Not applicable.
This invention provides methods of infusing compositions including phytochemicals, nutraceuticals such as vitamins, herbal extracts, and medicinals into food products, including, e.g., juices, fruits, vegetables, and meats, etc. The resulting infused food products are consumable products which are helpful in alleviating dietary insufficiency and/or to prevent or treat diseases such as cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer""s disease, etc.
Fruits, vegetables, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals included in a diet can enhance disease resistance. Food products such as fruit and vegetables commonly have moisture reduced through various techniques such as freeze drying, vacuum drying, air drying, osmotic dehydration, etc. to enhance storage, consumption, and shippability.
It has been noted in the conditioning and preservation of food products in their natural state that all food products contain soluble materials which may be lost or altered by contact with solutions of many types. For example, if meats, vegetables, or fruits are placed in water, the water has a tendency to dissolve out the soluble components of these food products, thereby altering their appearance and flavor.
There have been previous attempts to modify food products with useful ingredients. Some of the previous work involved mixing vitamin extracts into a fresh fruit mass, e.g., Elliot Ritchie Alexander, xe2x80x9cVitamin Fruit Composition,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 1,886,931, and Clarence Birdseye, xe2x80x9cProcess of Improving and Preserving Food Products,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 2,419,877. Others involved adding flavors into frozen foodstuffs, such as those disclosed in Harry A. Noyes, xe2x80x9cProcess of Conditioning Foods,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 2,317,397. More recent work described using osmosis to dehydrate and preserve foods, e.g. Brimelow and Brittain, xe2x80x9cContiguous Food Impregnation,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,963, and Peter Butland, xe2x80x9cProcess for Producing a Natural Fruit Candy,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,050. There have also been efforts made to infuse certain flavors into foods using osmosis, such as those disclosed in Lewis and Lewis, xe2x80x9cDehydrated Vegetables,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,141, Karim Nafisi-Novaghar, xe2x80x9cMethod of Making Dried Fruits,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,972, and Aebi, et al., xe2x80x9cProcess for Preparing Dehydrated Vegetable Products,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,873, and using a degradation enzyme, e.g. as in Poulose and Boston, xe2x80x9cEnzyme Assisted Degradation of Surface Membranes of Harvested Fruits and Vegetables,xe2x80x9d U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,662. Some have also explored methods of preserving fruits and vegetables using deep freezing, e.g., Berey et al., xe2x80x9cFruit and Vegetable Preservation Using Deep Freezexe2x80x94by Complete or Partial Withdrawal of Free Water and Partial Replacement of it with Additives, Improving Appearance, Flavour and Shelf-life,xe2x80x9d e.g., in Hungarian patent HU 47823.
However, none of these prior art methods are satisfactory in terms of their ability to infuse nutrients into food products in general. The reason is that the above processes result in a loss of phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals from the food, resulting in a corresponding loss of nutritional value and decreasing the disease-preventative value of the food. A need exists in the art to provide improved methods of food preparation and storage, as well as to provide efficient mechanisms for infusing osmotically dried fruits, vegetables, and other food products. This invention fills these and other needs.
Food products can have their moisture reduced through various techniques such as freeze drying, vacuum drying, air drying, osmotic dehydration, etc. One process described herein uses osmotic dehydration, in which higher osmotic pressure outside a food particle causes moisture to migrate out of the food. This is done with sugars or solutions of sugars, e.g., high fructose corn syrup, or others. During the migration time, solutes in the solutions fill voids left by the water that was removed by infusion. In the invention, flavors, colors, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals such as isoflavonals, lycopene, resveratol, indocarbonals, anthocyanins, etc., as well as, e.g., soluble fiber, are infused along with the osmotic dehydration solute by adding these desired additives in controlled dosage to the osmotic dehydration solution.
The invention provides a method of infusing a composition into a food product by increasing the brix of an osmotic dehydration solution containing the food product, over a period of time. The food product is incubated with the composition, thereby infusing the composition into the food product. These steps are optionally performed separately, sequentially, or simultaneously.
Typically, the composition used in the method is a phytochemical, a nutraceutical, or other desirable food additive. In one significant aspect of the invention, the food product is predried before the composition is infused into the food product. Alternatively, the osmotic dehydration solution optionally includes the composition to be infused into the food product.
The brix of the osmotic dehydration solution is typically varied from about 20xc2x0 B. to about 80xc2x0 B. The brix of the osmotic dehydration solution is optionally changed daily, e.g., for a period of at least about one week. The method of the present invention can be performed at various temperatures such as about room temperature or up to about 50xc2x0 C., e.g., where the brix of the osmotic dehydration solution is about 77xc2x0 B. The infusion method further comprises stirring or circulating the osmotic dehydration solution, thereby increasing the rate of infusion of the composition into the food product. In one example, the infusion method is performed where the food product includes a strawberry and the brix of the osmotic dehydration solution is about 40xc2x0 B. In another example, the food product can include a marionberry and the osmotic dehydration solution includes high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). In another example, the food product used in the present invention includes a sliced cranberry, and the osmotic dehydration solution includes a phytochemical and HFCS, and the brix of the osmotic dehydration solution is about 77xc2x0 B.
In another aspect of the invention, when the food product includes fresh sliced carrot, and the brix of the osmotic dehydration solution is about 77xc2x0 B., the infusion method further includes heating the osmotic dehydration solution containing HFCS, Saw Palmetto, and Gingko Biloba, and incubating the solution overnight. Typically, the osmotic dehydration solution includes a dehydration solute such as high fructose corn syrup, dextrin, starch, gelatin, pectin, juice concentrate, or soy isolate. Optionally, the food product can be coated with a coating substance such as gelatin, pectin, or starch to form a coated food product, and the phytochemical is infused into the coated food product.
The dehydration solution is optionally heated, and/or continuously circulated. The solution is typically circulated through a tube or a pipe, or passed over a perforated conveyor in either a continuous or discontinuous process. In yet another aspect of the invention, the food product is freeze dried to 10% or lower residual moisture before infusion occurs.
Compositions to be infused include can be phytochemicals, or nutraceuticals such as: vitamins, minerals, isoflavoronals, lycopene, resveratol, indocarbonals, anthocyanins, soluble fiber, high protein rice, soy isolate or others. Optionally, the composition to be infused can include a flavor, or a color. The food product is optionally a vegetable such as a carrot, or bell pepper, e.g., where the osmotic dehydration solution includes a low dextrose and L-Carnitine.
In a further aspect of the invention, excess water is removed by drying a mixture of the food product and the composition after incubation of the food product with the composition. The food product includes, e.g., fruit, fruit juice, a vegetable, vegetable juice, ground liver, chicken, salmon, or the like. For example, the food product can be an apple, a carrot, or a pet treat. The composition used in the method of this invention can be a medicinal capable of providing a medical or dietary benefit to a human or an animal. For example, in one embodiment, prunes or prune juices are infused with Chinese herbal medicine to form a mixture for treatment or prevention of irritable bowel syndrome.
In one aspect of the invention, where the food product is a fruit juice or vegetable juice, and the composition is a phytochemical, the phytochemical is infused into the fruit juice or vegetable juice and further formed into a solid or semisolid mixture.
The mixture thus formed can be made into a trail mix, e.g., with at least two kinds of food products infused with phytochemicals. In a preferred embodiment, the mixture contains high protein rice, or soy isolate. In another preferred embodiment, the mixture is formed into a firm mass of material mixed with pectin or gelatin. Alternatively, the mixture is coated with a coating substance such as gelatin, pectin, or starch.
In a further aspect of the invention, a flavoring is infused into a fruit using the following steps: (a) soaking the fruit in a solution of potassium sorbite, calcium lactate, citric acid, glycerol, and the flavoring for at least three days; (b) removing 20% of the solution by weight each successive day; (c) replacing the removed solution with about 77xc2x0 B. brix HFCS until the brix of the solution reaches about 65xc2x0 B.; (d) rinsing the solution off the fruit or vegetable; and (e) drying the fruit or vegetable. The fruit typically includes, e.g., blueberry, strawberry, marionberry, cranberry, or the like. Optionally, anthocyanins, vitamin C, or other compounds are added to the solution.
DEFINITIONS
As used herein, the following terms have the meanings ascribed to them unless specified otherwise. All other terms have their meanings as commonly understood by one skilled in the art.
The term xe2x80x9cfood productxe2x80x9d refers to material of either plant or animal origin, or of synthetic sources, that contain an essential body nutrient such as a carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin, mineral, etc. Examples include meats, fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and the like.
The term xe2x80x9cphytochemicalxe2x80x9d refers to dietary compounds or chemicals derived from plants which provide a health benefit when consumed by humans or animals. Examples of such compounds or chemicals are lycopene, isoflavones, etc.
The term xe2x80x9cnutraceuticalxe2x80x9d refers any compounds or chemicals that can provide dietary or health benefits when consumed by humans or animals. Examples of nutraceuticals include vitamins, minerals, and others.
The term xe2x80x9cosmotic dehydrationxe2x80x9d refers to the process which occurs when food products are submerged in a solution having higher concentration of solutes outside of the food product than inside of it, and when water is caused to migrate from within the food product to outside the food product, thereby causing the food product to be dehydrated.
The term xe2x80x9cbrixxe2x80x9d refers to a unit measurement for measuring the density of the concentration of a chemical such as sugar in a solution. As used in the art, brix refers to a concentration in percent of sugar by weight according to the Brix scale. Brix scale here refers to a hydrometer scale for sugar solutions so graduated that its readings in degrees Brix at a specified temperature represent percentages by weight of sugar in a solution. See Webster""s Third New International Dictionary, unabridged, published by G. and C. Merriam Company, Springfield, Mass.
The term xe2x80x9cpretreatingxe2x80x9d refers to a process where a food product is treated chemically or physically before it is infused with a composition.
The term xe2x80x9cpredriedxe2x80x9d refers to a process where a food product is dehydrated by various means before it is infused with a composition. For example, the means of dehydration can be by freeze drying such that the food product is in freeze dried format when it is incubated with the composition.
The term xe2x80x9cHFCSxe2x80x9d refers to high fructose corn syrup.
The term xe2x80x9cpet treatxe2x80x9d refers to a food product consumed by a pet or livestock (i.e. a non-human, domesticated animal), such as a dog or cat biscuit, or other dog or cat treat. Examples of pets includes dogs, cats, birds, snakes, turtles, frogs, toads, rabbits, rats, mice, gerbils, hamsters, fish, and the like. Examples of livestock include pigs, cattle, cows, horses, chickens, ducks, fish, and other animals. Animal treats can, of course, also be produced for undomesticated wild animals.
The term xe2x80x9cherbal medicinexe2x80x9d refers to naturally occurring compositions such as Chinese herbal medicine that are used by Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners in curing diseases. Such compounds are generally derived from plant sources. Examples of herbal medicine include Dang Shen, Hua Xiang, Fang Feng, Yin Chen, Fu Ling, Bai Zhi, Bai Shao, Mu Xiang, Wu Wei Zi, etc.
The term xe2x80x9ccoating substancexe2x80x9d refers to a composition that can be applied to the food product to be infused a phytochemical or other composition to form a protective membrane or coating or layer over the food product. Examples of such coating substance are gelatin, pectin, and starch.
The term xe2x80x9ctrail mixxe2x80x9d refers to a food product containing at least two kinds of fruits, vegetables, nuts, or other foods. In the methods of the invention, at least one of the at least two kinds of food products is infused with a composition such as phytochemical, or nutraceutical.